Donovan Young, right, watches as his older brother, KU forward Kevin Young signs an autograph for Trentyn Harris of Frontenac, Kan., after Tuesday's game against Richmond at Allen Fieldhouse.

Donovan and mom have been in town since Saturday — they saw Kevin score eight points and grab six boards in a 89-60 battering of Belmont — and will remain indefinitely. They’ve decided to move from Perris, Calif., to Lawrence for second semester of Kevin’s final KU campaign.

“He loves KU. He loves all of his fans who love him here at KU,” added Donovan, 15, who will attend Free State High School as a freshman after starting out at Kevin’s alma mater, Perris High.

It was easy to spot Donovan Young outside the northwest tunnel, just past a pack of autograph seekers who sought signatures a full hour after Tuesday’s rout. The length and width of Donovan’s afro rival his big brother’s.

“For him, it’s more competition. He tries to get his bigger than mine,” Kevin Young said of afro expansion.

“We’ve done this before, when I was at Loyola (Marymount, 2008-09, 09-10 seasons). I had an afro and he tried to grow one, too. I think we do it (compete) every time one of us decides to grow our hair out,” Kevin added.

Donovan Young, who hopes to play both baseball and basketball during his time in Lawrence, doesn’t admit to any family competition.

“Actually when I was little, I wore my hair (like this). We’d cut it once in a while. I’d let it grow sometimes. When it’s hot outside, I cut it,” Donovan said.

Of his brother’s hair, he commented: “It’s pretty big, pretty big.”

Kevin is pleased his mom and brother have joined him in Lawrence. Sister Jasmine, is a sophomore basketball player at San Bernardino (Calif.) Valley College.

“It takes a lot of pressure off me. They are a lot closer to me right now; I just love it,” Kevin Young said. “It’s for them to be closer to me, get them out of California and getting the focus on school a little more (for Donovan).

“It’s good so far. I haven’t heard my mom in the crowd yet. I’m pretty sure she is going to start yelling sooner or later,” Kevin added, smiling.

Of the move, mom Alicia Morales said: “We are here to watch him play and support him. I’m so proud of my son. He is really a good role model for the young one (Donovan). The fans are awesome here. The people are awesome in Lawrence,” Alicia added.

Kevin plans on spending as much time as possible with his family members.

“When I was at Loyola, they were at every game. My mom’s been at every game since I was in middle school,” Kevin said.

Of his brother’s sports future, Kevin said: “He’s more a baseball player. He’s played all the positions. I think he likes outfield a lot, being able to make those diving catches and save the games, I guess.

“If it (basketball) is something he wants to do, I’ll support him all the way.”

KU, which is ranked No. 9 in the country, will next meet No. 7 Ohio State, at 3 p.m., Central time, Saturday, in Columbus, Ohio. The Jayhawks went 2-0 versus OSU last season. Young had 14 points and four rebounds in KU’s 78-67 victory on Dec. 10, 2011, in Allen Fieldhouse. OSU’s Jared Sullinger missed the game because of injury. KU won again, 64-62, in a Final Four semifinal on March 31, in New Orleans. Sullinger, who is now in the NBA, scored 13 points off 5-of-19 shooting in that game. Thomas Robinson had 19 points, Travis Releford 15 and Elijah Johnson 13 for KU.

Johnson down to three: Dakari Johnson, a 6-11 senior center from Montverde (Fla.) Academy, has narrowed his college choices to Kentucky, Syracuse and Georgetown, Rivals.com reports. Johnson, who is ranked No. 13 in the Class of 2013, eliminated KU, Florida, Ohio State and Missouri.

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Comments

Forget about Dakari Johnson. The only Johnson we need to worry about now is the prophet, Elijah. Dude is playing amazingly as of late, and I feel like my projection of him being an elite PG is beginning to come true. Although he may no be as good of slasher as TT, he still has a better all-around game.

Ellijah is VERY good. He is new to his role. The guy can shoot the ball (We have all seen him sink 3s.) He can pass the ball. He is constantly getting 6 or 7 assists a game. The guy can steal the ball and he can dribble. He will be one of the best PG in the country when March comes along and then watch out.

Dakari Johnson is not so easy to forget, but I agree EJ is a stud. Not sure what folks want to see him doing that he isn't. Sure he was a little banged up earlier, sure he hasn't hit the 3 well, but wouldn't you rather see Releford, BMac and W get going on offense than see the pg get to the line more? Big problem for NC St.and OSU in early losses (possibly even KU vs MSU) was the pg trying to take on too much of the scoring load.

• That does it. If mom's in town, we can't call him Jelly anymore. Dang, I'm gonna miss that nickname.

• Dakiri's only 6-11. This is Footer U.

• Seriously, Dakiri turned down Self and Donovan, two getting better guys, for Cal and Boeheim, two stay the same guys. Translation: Dakiri wanted a comfortable year and then go pro.

• KU matches up with Ohio State well every where but Deshaun Thomas. He's going to be a big challenge to Travis or Kevin. His trey means you go out on him, which means he can get by you. This means Jeff could be seeing a lot of Thomas inside. Playing in Columbus, Jeff will not get the calls. Jeff could see some splinters from fouls and so Jam Tray becomes important off the bench.

• KU matching up well assumes EJ is healthy and guarding well. Naadir is going to discover the next level of defense he needs to rise to when he gets on the floor with OSU's PG.

• Self telegraphed a lot about this year's offensive scheme yesterday, when he said Naadir needed to stop trying to stop drive and shoot pull ups against the giants, and only shoot open look treys; that's the way EJ has been doing it. I said awhile back that EJ was not just injured, but also showing Self a new way to play the point, given this year's talent. With a footer and an active 4 inside, plus these two great attackers on the wings, pg's touching paint to collapse defenses takes away the main strengths of the team--active inside scoring.

• Its taken awhile for Self and Dooley and Doc to figure out an offense for this team. They started trying to play inside out and that didn't work. Touching paint and muscling to collapse the D, when you are skinny is a dead end inside, and our trey shooting is not that great o kick out to either. Stretching didn't happen either.

The brain trust figured it out three games ago. Its counter intuitive. New rule: don't collapse the defense. No more drive it in. No more pick and roll. No more weave to tighten down and look for a drive alley.

• Where ever the ball goes on the perimeter, the other 4 positions are like Lazy Susan rotating clock wise when ball is wing right. Counter clockwise when ball is wing left. Players are kept widely spaced. When conventional high lo sets are run, the spacing is kept exaggerated. Self said it was a poor picking team, so picking is de emphasized and picks are set on arcing cuts. No more straight lines except when cutting for the iron. In short, we are seeing the offense run to prevent the defense from concentrating in order to let our long and skinnies move horizontally to iron, then explode up to it.

New rule: if your guys aren't strong enough to muscle, give them enough space to be swift in.

• In the age of XTReme Muscle this inverts everything.

• The counter is to sag and muddy and hope KU cannot stand outside and live by the trey. OSU will try.

He's imitating Self IMHO. Its a distraction. Like Self saying he plans to try Kevin and Travis at the point, or AW3 playing the 4. It gives the opposing coach more to prepare for.

Self often says he wants to play faster, only to have it turn into a grind it out game. He often said this, when everything favored his talent play half court and muscle it into the bigs.

Matta may even think he wants to play faster, because his team is shorter than KU; i.e., he may want to create more transition FGAs without Withey around the rim. It sounds good, just like Richmond and Oregon State not shooting the ball inside, and trying to make Jeff chase. But at the end of the day, you have to find a way to play an opponent that yields the usual diversity of inside and trey shots, or you're going to lose.

And when Matta finds out how long KU is in transition, he's going to want to slow it down and muddy it up for the 15-20 minutes that Amir and Evananel can stay on the floor without getting winded.

IMHO Matta may even have adopted Self's play it anyway they want strategy; i.e., let the opponent set the tempo and you find a way to attack where he is weak at that tempo.

When to Self Ball/Eddie Ball style of teams meet, i.e., a game where neither team is trying to set tempo, but rather waiting for the other to set tempo, what results is a very slow, uninspired first two minutes with a lot of standing around and feeling out to decide which team is keeping three on the glass, or releasing 3 on the break. Usually, one team is shorter and a weaker rebounding team and so has to hold three and release two. When the other team realizes that it is being given the fast break then it starts breaking; this causes the other team to start releasing 3, which causes the game to slow back down. And so on it goes. Neither team setting tempo, but each team taking what it recognizes the other team is giving.

I look for some very quick spurts and some grind it out .

Self would be happy for Ohio State to force the tempo to run; that would play straight into Self's hands. Why? Because for OSU to sustain a fast pace, it would mean their only two bigs--Evanel and Amir--would only be able to play a short time of the total 40 minutes. Self loves it anytime a team plays it so that Jeff can play only 10 minutes the first half. It leaves him able to play through Jeff for 20 minutes the second half.

This is all interesting, but it only matters if KU can contain Deshaun Thomas. Thomas is to OSU this season what TRob was to KU's team last season. If you can't stop him, then it means everyone else on your team gets loose.

Hear ye hear ye! Kevin Young's nickname is AFROGLIDE. Same connotations plus a nod to the 'fro, but much more subtle and clever. For those that don't get it, 'Astroglide' is another famous brand of lubricant, similar to KY Gelly... (I didn't make this nickname up, read it on the boards somewhere. It's brilliant!)

Thank JB. That was helpful. Now I have a ? 4 u. You said Matta has been copying Self's game in the last couple years, and he has yet to beat Self. How did he do that? And how is Self going to counter & beat his copycat wuss Matta on Sat? Personally, Matta has never impressed me. And a copycat can do only so much, sooner or later he has to show his own brain cells at work. Much appreciate the analysis!!

You owe me putting up with this nonsensical discourse about the nickname Jelly.

Seriously, I've been having a lot of fun with this, but you aren't really uneasy about calling him Jelly, are you?

I mean, what if we had a player named James Sheepgut? You wouldn't mind fans calling him Trojan, or Prophy would you?

I mean I have defended America and Americans against all the Euro sophisticates and Eurotrash I have met that have talked about how hopelessly backward, inhibited, and neurotic Americans are about sexuality and public discourse about sexuality, and portrayal of sexuality in media.

I have said, "No, no, no, that was an America back in 1920; that was the America that Henry Miller grew up in and had to flee to get free enough to write his great books like Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn, Stand Still Like a Humming Bird, and The Rosy Crucifixion, and Nexus, Plexus and Sexus. That America he had to flee is gone--the America that is afraid to speak of sexuality and things sexual. Bennett Cerf put an end to that America, when he published Ulysses back in the 1930s and won the court case against it being obscene."

These Europeans have shaken their heads at me and said, "You Americans are hopeless, when it comes to sex. You think you had a sexual revolution, but you didn't. Its okay to shoot someone in the balls in American movies, or to show them being genitally tortured, but its not okay to show a pair in a love scene." And I have said steadfastly, "My America has grown up. My America leads the world. It does not follow it. The art of my America is not afraid of sex and sexuality. It does not need to displace its sexual desires and sexual discourse into slasher movies and predator movies and crime movies anymore just to be titillated. The old vulgarities continue, but we Americans are no longer too inhibited to make jokes about sexuality and things related to sex. We can have heroes and heroines making love and liking it. We don't need the double standard of what can and cannot be shown."

And now after all of this defending of my beloved America and of my beloved Americans, I am told by two apparently college educated Americans that using someone else's nickname of Jelly for my favorite player on the team, because his initials are KY and KY Jelly is a lubricant for lovers having sex, and Kevin is so smooth, that Jelly lacks class and propriety?

Tell me you are kidding me about this, will you?

Tell me you are not really this sensitive to a reference to sex lubricant.

I think KY Jelly is extremely classy and considerate to use in love making and perfectly okay to talk about in public.

I think it positively wreaks of propriety in love making. If I had a daughter, and some jerk dared to make love to her, in or out of wedlock, without using KY Jelly, or some equivalent, I would probably consider that grounds for punching him out.

Frankly, if Kevin makes it to the pros, I think it would be great if KY Jelly were to sign Kevin Young as a spokesperson and mount an ad campaign for Kevin Young in the NBA with Kevin saying, "My teammates call me Jelly."

That's almost as embarrassing as letting me out with one...almost, but not quite. :-)

You make me feel like Max Planck each time we exchange, and, unlike you, I know I'm just a humble board rat working out and having some fun here, whereas you labor at judging fellow board rats according to your undefined standards of class and propriety.

Without putting too fine a point on it in your case, it seems safe to infer: mistakes are sometimes made in a bureaucracy. :-)

What was your degree in? Your GPA? Did you get a 3.8 in smearology?

smear n. smir\

a usually unsubstantiated charge or accusation against a person or organization —often used attributively

You appear to smear over the most inconsequential things...like a flipping nickname.

Piety without insight about what one is devout about merits the most corrosive ridicule available.

You may have all of my mine. :-)

Further, you appear not infrequently to resort to smearing about "class" and what is "proper."

Talking about class and propriety are not necessarily signs of addled, or even attack, thinking, but whenever they are used without a sound underpinning argument, in my experience, they tend to betray a mind locked in a primitive stage of development attempting to hide the condition with hollow talk of connotations of words--in this case, class and propriety.

It just is not clear that you have sufficient expertise on class and propriety to be able persuasively to judge who has class, and who does not.

Notice that I do not challenge your right to say others lack class and propriety.

Rather, I assert that you lack any apparent qualification to be taken seriously, when you make such judgements.

Were I to be given a choice to compare your claims of what lacked class and propriety, with say, those of a jack ass, I might doubt which had more credibility--you or the jackass, and here is why.

You may think I'm exaggerating here about the jack ass, but I'm not. I have had the pleasure of getting to know a jackass that a friend kept as a pet, along with a pony and a horse. The jackass could not type as you appear to be able to do, but jackass knew instinctively the difference between nice persons and jerks. Time and again, I saw this jackass be amiable with nicer persons and become an unruly, contrary breighing beast of burden with jerks around. The jackass was an extraordinary judge of character and he liked and trusted me, among any number of decent souls I saw confront him. The jackass built up a report not only with me, but with distinguished scientists, writers, a musician, and perhaps a half dozen successful business persons that I can recall off hand.

This jackass seemed to understand class and propriety. When a jerk lifted his tail, the jackass kicked him a good ten to fifteen feet away from him. And when a person I knew to be a fine human being in every way i keep track of such things, walked up to the jackass and patted his hind quarters, stroked his tail, and then lifted it gently, the jackass did not mind a bit.

So, I mean what I say, KULA. If I were to have to choose between trusting your judgement of who has class and the jackass' judgement of same, based on my experience of both of you over extended periods, I have to say, I would trust the jackass and not you.

Most persons with class don't talk about other persons lacking class. Have you noticed this?

Notice it, KULA.

Notice I am not talking about how much class you lack, or possess. One never needs to master the obvious.

I am certainly not saying you are a jackass. I am saying that the one jackass I have gotten to know evidenced more insight into class and propriety than you do.

I am pointing out your struggle with reason, also--your seeming aversion to it.

I don't say you have no class.

I say you don't seem able to recognize class, or the lack of it. You have never given me an indication that you are a reliable judge of class, or of the lack of it, either.

The way you use the notions of class and propriety is almost as if they were smears empty of meaning to you. They have connotation to you, but no denotation. This is the essense of smearing in the online, interactive era.

This is why I am taking the time to dissect you remarks at all. I want to use your posts as primers in what smearing is.

You may find my and other's uses of Jelly as a nickname for Kevin Young lacking in class and propriety. But how qualified are you to pass judgement for a large, college educated and diverse online community. I have already noted that I have known a jackass that I found more insightful about such things than you.

Note: I do not talk about how little class you have.

I am comparing you to a jackass in terms of insight into class and propriety; that is all.

I also remark specifically that your diction, tone, and composition suggest empty words from a thick head resonating with dull thoughts--thuds, really--aimed at distributing connotations, not denotations--hollow, judgemental smears, not substantive thought.

I am trying to do something here that I have never noticed you do. I am giving serious thought to what you write. I am trying to unsnag and understand what appear to be your smearing, or at least what appear to be the smearing by your alias. All my remarks pertain solely to your alias and not to you. I do not know you and so I have no opinion about you.

Your alias doesn't mind me talking about your alias' apparent smearing, do you? I can't really talk about anything else more substantial, because your alias doesn't write anything much more substantial in my recall of your posts, at least those that are responses to my posts. I confess not to reading your alias' posts much outside your remarks related to my alias.

Here is my imitation of your alias' takes. I do it to give your alias some feed back, to give your alias some place to start searching for a way out of the hole your alias appears to operate from.

Poster A: KULA writes as if mucus dangles from his virtual nose.

KULA: That is very low class. I graduated from a school that had class.

Poster B: KULA, you know the way to attack a zone is to send your high post into the seams of the zone near the free throw line, pass it to him, let the zone collapse, and pass down the lane, or to the wing.

KULA: (silence)

Poster C: Hey, KULA, you flipping lead-brained snot-wad, didn't you know I didn't coin the flipping nickname Jelly for Kevin Young, that its been hanging around a long time, and he's been called KY almost since the moment he joined the team, but, regardless, I really think its a fun and funny nickname and couldn't care less about what you think?

KULA: Thank you for moving to Lawrence and hopefully retiring that dumb nickname.

This is how you sound to my alias and the term "dumb nickname" seems quintessential KULA.

It thuds. Its dull. Its a concluding grunt to an argument that is apparently inadequately made. It is unpersuasive standing alone, at least to my alias, and yet you let it stand alone. It seems a smear punch by a punch drunk fighter.

And you know exactly what I mean by smear, because I have defined it for you clearly.

KULA your alias sounds like a smearing, punch drunk fighter talking about class and propriety, when you appear unlikely able to remember left and right, jab and hook. I'm using a metaphor here to clarify the connotation, since I have already examined the denotation.

I'm only talking about the impression your writing gives me here. I can't know what you are really like. For all I know you could be adopting the persona of a thick headed dimwit and actually be a rocket scientist.

Do you understand me, KULA. I am giving you the benefit of the doubt. You could be a smart college educated person pretending to be a smearing slow-brain.

What's up?

Is it an act?

If so, what is the purpose of the act?

If it is not an act, how did you get this way?

When did you start substituting judging other persons for having reasoned opinions and discussions.

When did you start passing yourself off as someone qualified to define propriety for a diverse online community full of college educated adults, when you don't appear willing to model class and propriety for others?

What can I do for you to help you back off from the class judgement cliff? from the lip of the propriety judgement abyss?

Try to be the best you can be and try to get better.

And I will, too.

Stop telling other adults what is class and what is proper for them to do and what is not, unless they ask you for your advice on these points, unless, of course, you have been appointed ombudsman for such work by the online editors of this august web site.

Work on getting better yourself.

Really work at it.

Put in the time.

You can do it.

If you want others to act according to your standards of class and propriety, then discover how to act with class and propriety and then work at getting better at reaching said standards.

You will earn respect each time you do, especially if you also invest some time in learning how to think logically, or at least logically enough that I can follow it. Why use me as a standard for gauging the adequacy of your reason? Because. I have average intelligence. If I can get what you say, then most people to the right of me in the intelligence distribution will have no trouble with you at all. Those to the left may require more work on our part to help them get you.

Work at it, KULA.

You can do it.

You appear never to have tried to get better at increasing your classiness, or at increasing your propriety, or at improving your logical thinking; this means that you have huge increments of getting better easily within your grasp.

Notice again: I man not saying you lack class, or propriety. I am saying your posts make you appear never to have tried to get better at either.

It wreaks of nepotism. Not that I have a problem with it; it goes on everywhere. As for why its curious, parents don't generally follow children in our culture, and I doubt many others. So it's against the norm. That said, I love Young in the lineup. I'm not sure he's better than Ellis, but the team just plays better with him on the floor. There has been a noticeable drop off with the second unit. I think Self sticks with the starting unit and grinds out a scheme for the back ups. OSU seems to have the emotional advantage, wanting to avenge last year's losses and a slightly sour taste from their haphazard performance in their last game. But KU has been playing very well, and playing with poise. They know to expect their biggest game of the year to be tough. I think they continue to play stifling defense. KU 78 - OSU 70.

Bill, do you have children who excel in any endeavors? Is a no brainer, the desire of parents to hang close to their children's exciting performances. My son was a high school and collegiate All American in a medium other than basketball. The missus and I drove thru snowstorms and high waters to see him perform, putting much of our own regular activities on hold during those years. For Kevin and family, this next semester might enfold the absolute pinnacle of joy and hope for future income, perhaps in a distant employment site where mom and brother will rarely be able to see him play. In my mind and opinion, it is very heartwarming to read that mother and brother have settled for a spell in Lawrence. Kevin might someday settle down for permanent residence in this midwest seat of university hoops mania.

And why is this issue so important for you to know "why they need......... drastic move"" How about it simply be a PERSONAL decision - one that's not anyone else business?
"Cars" and "airplanes" ..."should look into them." Nonsensical, at best. Sorry.

And, I too, welcome Kevin's mom and brother, Donovan to Lawrence and KU-ingdom. As Jayhawk basketball fans, we have been extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to become acquainted with, and get to know, so many of our player's families over the years. And what marvelous experiences those have been. We have always taken pride in the quality and character of our players, and in getting to know the families gives us insight into why this is so.

Glad to see that his Mom can make it happen here in Kansas. This is why the NCAA is a bunch of buttholes. These kids should make some money, because I know the $240 I spent for tix at a recent game should go to them, and the cash money they make on 3rd tier TV rights should let kids from far away provide for family. I don't know the circumstances around TRob's mom, or D Block, but perhaps a support system in the greatest town in America might help folks who come from areas that tend to stuggle. I mean, Tyshawn's mom worked at Dillon's, right? How much did KU athletics make off his contributions last year?

I too am so glad that Kevin's mom and little brother have moved here. Why wouldn't you want to watch your son in his last few months of college ball at a great place like AFH??

I know it sure makes Kevin's world a better place. Now he'll have even more to grin about, and you know that can't hurt, unless he sprains his jaw or something...

Welcome, Alicia and Donovan, Jayhawk Nation is always glad for more family members in the stands. You might want to bring some earplugs for some of the Big 12 games, though. It's going to get L O U D ! ! !